Black Experience in the Caribbean - Exam 2

1. Pan-Africanism

2. Black Nationalism

3. Garveyism

4. Rastafaranism

5. Afro-Socialism

6. Liberation Theology

What are the six ideologies?

• Roots in pre-colonial Africa (Ubuntu) → “I am because we are” (collective identity)

• Develops during trans-Atlantic slavery → diaspora forms

• Formalizes early 1900s (global movement)

• Global: Africa, Caribbean, U.S., Europe, Latin America

Time & Place (Pan-Africanism):

• Unite all people of African descent globally

• Resist slavery, colonization, and cultural erasure

• Reconnect Africans across the diaspora politically, culturally, and psychologically

Purpose (Pan-Africanism):

• Global unity → Africans everywhere share one struggle

• Collective liberation → no African is free until all are free

• Political independence → support anti-colonial movements

• Cultural restoration → reclaim African identity and history

Goals (Pan-Africanism):

• Roots in mid-1800s

• Strongest 1910s–1960s, expands into Black Power era

• Primarily United States, with diaspora connection

Time & Place (Black Nationalism):

• Promote Black independence, self-sufficiency, and racial pride

• Reject reliance on white institutions

• Address contradiction between U.S. ideals and racism

Purpose (Black Nationalism):

• Political power → constitutional reform and self-governance

• Economic independence → control of resources and institutions

• Racial pride → “Black is Beautiful,” cultural reclamation

• Cultural reconquest → dashikis, name changes, identity restoration

• In some cases → Back to Africa (belief freedom cannot exist in white-dominated systems)

Goals (Black Nationalism):

• 1910s–1920s (founded 1914, peaks early 1920s)

• Starts in Jamaica, expands to Harlem (U.S.), then global

Time & Place (Garveyism):

• Respond to lack of Black power, pride, and privilege

• Uplift Black people through unity, entrepreneurship, and self-reliance

Purpose (Garveyism):

• Racial pride → restore dignity and confidence (“re-valorization”)

• Global Black unity → connect struggles worldwide

• Economic power → businesses, factories, institutions

• Self-sufficiency → do not rely on white systems

• Repatriation → return to Africa as true homeland

• Separatism → belief that Black advancement must come from within

Goals (Garveyism):

• Early roots 1920s, develops 1930s–1970s, global after

• Originates in Jamaica (Kingston, urban poor communities)

Time & Place (Rastafarianism):

• Respond to racism, colonialism, poverty, and exclusion

• Serve as the voice of the voiceless (Afro-masses)

• Provide spiritual, cultural, and psychological liberation

Purpose (Rastafarianism):

• Reject “Babylon” → Western oppressive systems

• Reconnect to Africa → identity + homeland (Zion/Ethiopia)

• Black consciousness → “psychology of somebodies” (self-worth)

• Repatriation → early literal, later symbolic

• Cultural resistance → lifestyle, identity, spirituality

Goals (Rastafarianism):

• Roots: 1917 Russian Revolution

• Develops 1960s, peaks 1970s

• Caribbean (West Indies): Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Grenada

Time & Place (Afro-Socialism):

• Address inequality after independence

• Challenge capitalism, imperialism, and neo-colonialism

Purpose (Afro-Socialism):

• Economic equality → reduce poverty and class divisions

• End neo-colonialism → stop foreign economic control

• Collective ownership → shift from profit to cooperation

• Mass mobilization → workers, students, poor

• Link race + class → show exploitation is both racial AND economic

• Replace European systems → with African communal values (“village” model)

Goals (Afro-Socialism):

• Late 1960s–1980s

• Latin America → Caribbean (especially Haiti)

Time & Place (Liberation Theology):

• Use religion to fight injustice, inequality, and poverty

• Transform the church into an active force for liberation

Purpose (Liberation Theology):

• Justice for the oppressed → “preferential option for the poor”

• Structural change → poverty caused by systems, not individuals

• Social sin → injustice comes from institutions

• Praxis → faith must lead to action

• Political resistance → church actively challenges oppression

• Combine religion + activism → Bible + Marxist analysis

Goals (Liberation Theology):

1. Rodney Riots

2. Black Power Revolution

3. Socialist Revolution

4. Popular People’s Uprising

What are the four uprisings?

• Jamaica (Kingston, University of the West Indies)

• October 1968

Place & Date (Rodney Riots):

• Even after independence (1962), most Black Jamaicans were still poor

• Jobs and money were controlled by foreign companies (like U.S. and Canadian businesses)

• Government was run by a small elite, not the masses

• Black people had political independence but no real economic power

• Immediate issue → government banned Walter Rodney, a professor speaking about Black Power

Issues (Rodney Riots):

• College students

• Rastafarians (poor Black communities)

• Unemployed and working-class youth

• Walter Rodney → inspired them by teaching African history + Black pride

Revolutionary Actors (Rodney Riots):

• Jamaican government (for banning Rodney + inequality)

• Foreign businesses (symbol of exploitation)

• The whole system → rich elites + foreign control

Targets (Rodney Riots):

• Protests turned violent → buses burned, stores looted

• Police shut everything down

• Rodney was NOT allowed back

Outcome (Rodney Riots):

• Showed independence did NOT equal freedom

• First big Black Power uprising in Caribbean

• Showed poor people + students could unite

Significance (Rodney Riots):

• Trinidad (Port-of-Spain)

• 1970

Place & Date (Black Power Revolution):

• After independence, people expected better lives → that didn’t happen (“dashed hopes”)

• White and foreign people still controlled the economy (banks, businesses)

• Black people mostly had low-level jobs (like serving roles)

• Skin color affected opportunities (lighter skin preferred — even in beauty contests)

• Immediate issue → protest started over Caribbean students being mistreated in Canada

Issues (Black Power Revolution):

• Students (UWI)

• NJAC (student activist group)

• Workers, poor people, market vendors

• Some soldiers

• BOTH Afro and Indo populations

Revolutionary Actors (Black Power Revolution):

• Government (Eric Williams)

• Foreign banks (especially Canadian)

• White elites controlling wealth

Targets (Black Power Revolution):

• Huge protests across country

• Economy disrupted (strikes)

• Military coup attempted → FAILED

• Government stayed in power

Outcome (Black Power Revolution):

• Showed political independence ≠ economic power

• Workers proved they had real power (shutting down economy)

• Raised Black consciousness + awareness of inequality

Significance (Black Power Revolution):

• Grenada

• 1979–1983

Place & Date (Socialist Revolution):

• Leader Eric Gairy was corrupt and abusive

• Used violence to control people

→ Mongoose Gang = government-controlled group that beat, threatened, and intimidated citizens

• People had no real voice in government

• Economy struggling → people wanted better living conditions

• Government ruled through fear, not democracy

Issues (Socialist Revolution):

• New Jewel Movement (political group)

• Maurice Bishop (leader)

• Workers, youth, farmers, general population

Revolutionary Actors (Socialist Revolution):

• Eric Gairy and his government

• Violent forces like the Mongoose Gang

• Foreign influence + unfair system

Targets (Socialist Revolution):

• 1979 → government overthrown (no violence, quick takeover)

• New socialist government created (PRG)

• Improvements → jobs, education, participation

• 1983 → internal conflict + U.S. invasion → revolution ends

Outcome (Socialist Revolution):

• Best example of socialism actually being tried in Caribbean

• Showed people could take control of government

• BUT also showed how hard it is to maintain power

Significance (Socialist Revolution):

• Haiti (started in Gonaïves → spread nationwide)

• 1984–1986

Place & Date (Popular People’s Uprising):

• Haiti ruled by dictatorship (Duvalier family since 1957)

• No elections → people had no political power

• Extreme poverty (people struggling to survive)

• Immediate trigger → High food prices → people couldn’t afford to eat

• Government used violence and fear to control people

• Police beat a pregnant woman and she died

Issues (Popular People’s Uprising):

• Ordinary people (poor + middle class)

• Students

• Workers

• Merchants (business owners)

• Churches (Catholic + Protestant)

• Media

• Opposition leaders

Revolutionary Actors (Popular People’s Uprising):

• President “Baby Doc” Duvalier

• Dictatorship system

• Police and military repression

Targets (Popular People’s Uprising):

• Massive protests, strikes, shutdowns

• Government tried to use violence → made things worse

• February 7, 1986 → Duvalier flees country

• Dictatorship ends

Outcome (Popular People’s Uprising):

• Shows power of the people when they unite

• Religion played a big role in resistance

• Example of successfully removing a dictator

• BUT problems in Haiti did not fully go away

Significance (Popular People’s Uprising):

1. Haiti

2. Grenada

What are the two dictatorial states?

• Oppression → use of violence/force (beatings, killings, intimidation)

• Repression → denying rights (no protest, no free speech, censorship)

• Disenfranchisement → people have no real political power (fake or no elections)

• Co-optation → government silences opposition by rewarding them (jobs, money, positions)

What are the key characteristics of a dictatorial state?

• Dictatorship under François Duvalier → Jean-Claude Duvalier

• No democracy, no accountability

What was happening? | Haiti (1957-1986)

• Tonton Macoutes → secret police that terrorized, beat, and killed people

• Repression → no opposition allowed

• Disenfranchisement → no real elections

• Co-optation → rewarding loyal supporters

How was power maintained? | Haiti (1957-1986)

• Extreme poverty

• No security (constant fear of violence)

• Limited access to basic needs

Conditions of the Afro-masses | Haiti (1957-1986)

• Authoritarian and corrupt leadership

What was happening? | Grenada (1957-1979)

• Mongoose Gang → group used to threaten, attack, and silence opposition

• Oppression → violence against critics

• Repression → discouraging protest

• Co-optation → rewarding loyal supporters

How was power maintained? | Grenada (1957-1979)

• Political instability

• Fear of government retaliation

Conditions | Grenada (1957-1979)

1. Cuba

2. Guyana

3. Grenada

4. Jamaica (socialist-leaning policies)

What are the four socialist states?

• Independence did NOT fix inequality

• Economy still controlled by:

  • foreign countries

  • local elites

• Afro-masses still poor

• Socialism = attempt to:

  • reduce inequality

  • redistribute resources

  • gain economic independence

Why did socialism emerge?

• Revolution led by Fidel Castro

What happened? | Cuba (1960s - )

• Free healthcare

• Free education

• Government control of economy

What did they do? | Cuba (1960s - )

• Socialist policies introduced

What happened? | Guyana (1974 - )

• Nationalized industries

• Reduced foreign control

What did they do? | Guyana (1974 - )

• Socialist government after revolution

What happened? | Grenada (1979-1983)

• Expanded education

• Increased public participation

• Economic reforms

What did they do? | Grenada (1979-1983)

• Government adopted socialist-leaning policies

What happened? | Jamaica (1970s-1980s)

• Attempted redistribution

• Focus on workers and equality

What did they do? | Jamaica (1970s-1980s)

1. Dominican Republic

2. Brazil

3. Chile

What are the three racist states?

• Strong anti-Black ideology → anti-Haitianismo

• Haitian identity linked to Blackness

What is happening? | Dominican Republic (1929 - )

• Seen as:

  • criminals

  • “lower culture”

  • economic burden

• Blamed for:

  • crime

  • poverty

  • social problems

How are ethnic Haitians treated? | Dominican Republic (1929 - )

• Denied rights and opportunities

• Exploited as cheap labor

• Limited access to education, jobs, and citizenship

• Political campaigns centered on “solving the Haitian problem”

What does this treatment look like in reality? | Dominican Republic (1929 - )

“Raceless society” → race does not matter

What is claimed? | Brazil

• Race still shapes opportunity

• Lighter skin = more access

Example:

• Jobs require “good appearance” (coded exclusion of Black people)

What is the reality? | Brazil

opportunity, power, and life outcomes (e.g., jobs, income, treatment, access to resources)

Race and ethnicity determines →

• economically disadvantaged

• politically marginalized

• socially undervalued

Afro-Caribbean populations (Afro-masses) are more likely to be:

Afro populations may view Indo populations as:

• economically dominant

• controlling business sectors

• prioritizing their own group interests

Indo populations may view Afro populations as:

• politically dominant

• controlling government institutions

• having greater influence in state power

What are the Afro-Indo relations in Guyana and Trinidad?

• Rooted in colonial labor systems:

  • Africans → enslaved labor

  • Indians → indentured labor after emancipation

• Groups were placed into different economic and social roles

• Over time, this created:

  • competition for jobs

  • competition for political power

  • ethnic division instead of unity

Why did these viewpoints develop?

• They oversimplify reality and ignore structural factors.

• Neither group has complete control:

  • Afro groups may have more visibility in politics

  • Indo groups may have presence in certain economic sectors

• Both groups experience forms of inequality and limitation

→ These tensions are not primarily caused by one group dominating the other, but by larger systems of inequality created by colonialism and maintained after independence.

Why are these viewpoints considered invalid?

• Afro vs:

  • Anglo (European descent)

  • Chinese (Sino population)

  • Mixed-race groups

→ Hierarchies still exist based on race + class

What are three race relations within Jamaica?

• Afro-masses vs European elites

→ Economic power still tied to race

What is the major race relation within the rest of the Caribbean?

1. Security → protection from violence

2. Jobs → stable income

3. Education

4. Healthcare

5. Opportunity → ability to improve life

What are five contemporary issues / needs of the Afro-masses in Haiti?